DeskBox vs Desktop Fences+

DeskBox is a free Windows app for organizing desktop files in boxes, mapped folders, stacks, and groups. File boxes support drag and drop, renaming, deletion, opening, and locating items in File Explorer. Mapped folders appear on the desktop without changing the original folder location. Similar files can be stacked manually or automatically, and grouped boxes can be switched with the mouse wheel or Ctrl+Tab. A cleanup flow lets users select files individually, include the public desktop, and resume an interrupted cleanup. Built-in boxes cover files, to-dos, notes, and music controls. DeskBox says files, to-dos, notes, and cache remain on the computer and are not uploaded to the cloud by default. Its built-in boxes have no feature restrictions, ads, or subscriptions; the app is listed as GPL-3.0-only with free personal use. It supports Windows 10 version 21H2 or later and Windows 11, with some materials and animations reduced on Windows 10. Direct installers support x64 or ARM64.

Desktop Fences+ is a free, open-source Windows utility for organizing desktop icons, shortcuts, files and folders into virtual fences. It offers data fences, portal fences that reflect folder contents, and note fences for text. Users can customize colors, borders, titles, icon sizes, spacing and launch effects. A search pane finds shortcuts across data fences. Profiles can switch automatically when programs activate or be selected with hotkeys, while Smart Desktop rules can move files into portal fences or folders. The manual describes backup and restore, and fences can be exported and imported between systems. Supported items include Windows shortcuts, web links, folders, documents and network targets; the changelog also mentions Spotify URI shortcuts and basic Microsoft Store app support. The project is portable and compatible with Windows 10 and 11, but requires a user-writable location and .NET Framework support. The digitalsleuth repository has no releases listed; its README points to the original limbo666 repository for the latest release package.